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treatment of epilepsy

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Q: What are the latest medical breakthroughs in the treatment of epilepsy. ?

A: Funny that you should ask that! I have Epilepsy and I am an ambassador for a british organisation called the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) and I am attending a conference on Saturday (24th). Send me an E-mail if you would like me to e-mail you our latest information and research findings and I will endeavour to let you know as much as I can.

Q: I need Help summerizing an EEG, procedure and treatment with Epilepsy….?
I have a son who is almost 4 and was diagnosed at the age of 3. I have much going on in my life and have this due tomorrw. I just need help! I understand everything I just need it sweet and simple and in in my mind thinking of everything my son and I went through was not fun and I now realize this was not a good choice to write about. PLEASE HELP!

A: These sites should get you started.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/eeg.html

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/quickstart/newlydiagnosed/qstreatment/qstreeg.cfm

Q: does Ortho-Tri-Cyclen have any known contrainindications to any drug used in treatment of epilepsy?
w/out a PDR I am having a hard time finding the answer,its a homework? Medical Asst. student,Thanx

A: Check with a local pharmacist who can certainly give you one of the inserts that come with each and every product they sell.

Q: Anyone have experience with alternative medical treatments for epilepsy?
I am looking for information on lessening the effects of myoclonic seizures with diet, magnets, breathing exercises, herbs that do not interfere with anti-seizure medication, etc.

A: If we offered you a miracle remedy that controls and cures “Epilepsy” would you buy it? Certainly you would. You won’t find it in a Pharmacy but at the Grocery Store.

Try the Natural Cures for Epilepsy.

Epilepsy refers to a chronic condition in which repeated fits or attacks of unconsciousness occur with or without confusions. It is a serious disorder of a central nervous system. It occurs in both children and adults. Most attacks, however, occur in childhood and in early adult life. Attack rates show a progressive decline in frequency with age.
Epilepsy is a very ancient disease which afflicted some of the world’s greatest personalities, including Napoleon, Alexander, and Julius Caesar. The actual word ” epilepsy” comes from the Greek word which means ” to seize upon”. The ancient people believed that evil spirits entered the body of the person afflicted, seized upon his soul and threw his body into convulsions. The Greeks believed that the gods induced this disease. The early Christians blamed the devil for convulsions.
One of the main problems that a person with epilepsy has to face is continual uncertainty about whether or not he or she will have an attack on any particular occasion. Patients may find themselves increasingly inhibited from engaging in social events because of the understandable fear that they might embarrass themselves by having another attack. Such people also encounter difficulties in employments and other relationships.
Symptoms: Epilepsy is recognised by recurrent sudden attacks at irregular intervals. The patients twitch convulsively and fall unconscious to the ground during these attacks which cause tremendous nervous upheaval. There are two main types of epilepsy known as petit mal and grand mal. Each follows its own specific pattern.
In petit mal, which is a less serious form of epilepsy, an attack comes and goes within a few seconds. The patient has a momentary loss of consciousness, with no convulsions except sometimes a slight rigidity, or there may be slight attack of convulsions such as a jerk, or movement of the eyes, head trunk, or extremities, with no perceptible loss of consciousness. The patient may not fall. He may suddenly stop what he is doing and then resume it when the attack is over, without even being aware of what has happened. Petit mal attacks may occur at any time in life but are most frequent in children.
The attack in case of grand mal comes with a dramatic effect. There are violent contractions of the arms, legs and body, accompanied by a sudden loss of consciousness. Before the onset of an attack, some patients have a warning or aura in the form of strange sensations such as a current of air or a stream of water flowing over a body, noises, odours, and flashes of light. In a typical attack, the patient cries out, falls to the ground loses consciousness, and develops convulsions. With the convulsions may come foaming at the mouth, twitching of the muscles, biting of the tongue, distorted fixation of limbs, rotation of the head and deviation of the eyes. The patient may lose control of his urine and facies. The attack may last several minutes and is usually followed by a deep sleep. On waking up, he may remember nothing of what happened to him.
People who suffer from epilepsy are not abnormal in any other way. They usually know that fits can be triggered off by particular stimuli. Between epileptic attacks, their brain functions normally.
Causes: Epilepsy denotes electrical malfunctioning within the brain due to damage of brain cells or some inherited abnormality. There are many causes of epilepsy. Digestive disturbances, intestinal toxaemia, and a strained nervous condition are very often the main cause of petit mal. Grand mal usually results from hereditary influences, serious shock, or injury to the brain or nervous system. Meningitis, typhoid, and other diseases attendant with prolonged high temperature can also lead to grand mal.
Epilepsy may be caused by several other factors. It may result from allergic reactions to certain food substances, especially some particular form of protein which is the main constituent of meat. Circulatory disorders such as hardening of arteries leading to the brain may also cause epileptic seizures. This type is rare and occurs only in very aged people. Chronic alcoholism, lead poisoning, cocaine and other such habits can also lead to this disease. Other causes of epileptic seizure include mental conflict, deficient mineral assimilation, particularly of magnesium and calcium and wrong vitamin metabolism. According to some researchers, hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is also involved in most cases of epilepsy.
Treatment: In the natural form of treatment, the sufferer from epilepsy has to follow a rigorous regimen consisting of a strict dietary, complete relaxation and optimum exercise in the open air. He must adhere to a simple and correct natural life. He must assume a cheerful, optimistic attitude, refrain from mental and physical overwork and worry.
The most important aspect of the treatment is the diet. To begin with, the patient should be placed on an exclusive fruit diet for first few days. During this period he should have three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits such as oranges, apples, grapes, grapefruit, peaches, pears, pineapple and melon. Thereafter, he may gradually adopt a well balanced diet of three basic food groups viz. (i) seeds, nuts and grains, (ii) vegetables, and (iii) fruits with emphasis on sprouted seeds such as alfalfa seeds and mung beans, raw vegetables, and fruits. The diet should include a moderate amount of raw milk preferably goat’s milk and milk products such as raw butter and homemade cottage cheese.
The diet should eliminate completely all animal proteins, except milk, as they not only lack in magnesium, but also rob the body of its own magnesium storage as well as of vitamin B6. Both these substances are needed in large amounts by epileptics. The best food sources of magnesium are raw nuts, seeds, soyabeans, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, beet-tops, etc. The patient should avoid all refined foods, fried, and greasy food, sugar, and products made with it, strong tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, condiments, and pickles. The patient should avoid over eating and take frequent small meals rather than a few large ones. He should not eat large meals before going to bed.
Mud packs on the abdomen twice-daily help remove toxaemic conditions of the intestines and thereby hasten removal of epileptic conditions. The application of alternate hot and cold compresses to the base of the brain that is at the back of the head will be beneficial. The procedure is to dip the feet in a bucket of hot water and apply first a hot towel and then a cold one to the base of the brain. The alternate hot and cold towels should be kept for two or three minutes about four times. The process shall be repeated twice every day. Full Epsom-salt bath, twice a week is also beneficial.
If the sufferer from epilepsy has taken strong drugs for many years, he should not leave off entirely all at once. The dosage may be cut to half to begin with and then gradually reduced further until it can be left off completely.
An epileptic should strictly observe all the natural laws of good health and build and maintain the highest level of general health. He should remain active mentally but avoid all severe mental and physical stress. And above all, he should avoid excitements of all kinds.
Hope this helps, Good Luck.

Q: Canine Epilepsy – Fly-Biting – Treatment? Prognosis?
I asked a question earlier about my 4yo 5lb Chi’s recent frequent episodes of biting at the air chasing invisible flies. Loki_Wolfchild was kind enough to link me to this article that defined in detail exactly what’s going on: http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/flybite/flybite.html

Indeed she is having frequent complex partial seizures associated with a secondary epilepsy. We are going to the vet tomorrow at noon.

I would like to hear from owners/vets who have pets diagnosed and treating for epilepsy.. what kind of life she can expect to lead, if the seizures will get increasingly worse/more frequent or cease with treatment, what treatment you found is best (ie: Phenobarbitol AND Potasium Bromide, one vs. the other), frequency of treatment… anything you can tell me from your experience.

SERIOUS ANSWERS ONLY! I would like to have as much information as possible to discuss with the vet tomorrow. I just want her to be okay and live a happy life. Thanks!
We’re switching from Artemis to Canidae foods – both holisitic. She does not use any flea meds or any other such preventative.
She is fly-biting VERY frequently… like every 5-15 minutes… it’s very sad and quite scary. She doesn’t seem stressed, but I certainly am. I would have never considered this behavior a seizure until I read on and on. Vet tomorrow as I said.
The vet diagnosed her with epilepsy today and started her on 1/2 a gram of phenobarbital twice daily. I hope this helps reduce if not cease the seizures.

Thanks all for your kindness.

A: there is no way to predict what the future holds. some get worse, some are well controlled with meds.

if she goes into gran mal’s that is the time to let her go.

different dogs respond to different treatments.

I would definately put her on a holistic food so she isn’t getting any of the chemicals. also, what flea & HW med is she on? that can cause problems too.

my tiny poodle only ever actually had one seizure but had episodes similiar to parkinsons disease – tremors. she took phenobarb & sclaranthus – one of the Bach flower remedies from the health food store.

Q: Has anyone known someone to use Marijuana for controling epilepsy?
A lot of studies are showing that marijuana has almost completely treated grand mal seizures for epilepsy when other treatment doesn’t respond…do you know anyone who did this?

A: I have epilepsy in my sleep (known as nocturnal epilepsy) and cannabis greatly reduces and quells my seizures but it’s illegal here in Australia. The doc has got me on this strong sleep drug that can be used as a date-rape drug and I totally hate it. I’d prefer a natural cure anyday. Don’t be afraid of it, but don’t have too much or you will end up feeling drowsy etc. Epilepsy drugs can be really nasty and ineffective.

Q: What is the best treatment for a horse with recurring tonic-clonic epilepsy?
A. An IV drip of benadryl solution
B. Administration of anti-epileptic medication
C. Euthanasia
D. Change of diet

A: If I had to choose from the above I would say B, and D.
Benadryl would be for allergies not epilepsy.
Euthanasia would be death which I would only use as a last resort and the animal is suffering.

Q: epilepsy hair problem.?
I am fifteen and have resently started a new course of epilepsy treatment called sodium valporate. And its causing me to loose my hair and i am being left with bald patches. any advice please help im scared.

A: Go to the doctor and get them to change your medcation.

Q: what r the signs of static epilepsy? and its treatment?

A: There are no signs for static epilepsy. It’s just a grand mal seiaure that doesn’t stop. It can lead into a cardiac arrest if it’s not stopped. There are 28 different kinds of epilepsy ( the last time I looked) and a grand mal seizure is usually the one that can go static. You would have to go to the emergency room and they would have to give you an I.V. of whatever seizure drug and wait until you come out of it.

Q: What are the side effects of Tegretol?
which is used in epilepsy treatment..does it affect weight and behaviour?

A: Complete info on the drug

http://www.pharma.us.novartis.com/product/pi/pdf/tegretol.pdf

Q: Diet works to treat epilepsy. What’s your reaction?
Diet works to treat epilepsy. What’s your reaction ???
Evidence a High-Fat Diet Works to Treat Epilepsy

Meryl Streep and Seth Adkins in “First Do No Harm,” a 1997 film about the diet and epilepsy.

By ALIYAH BARUCHIN
Published: May 6, 2008
A formerly controversial high-fat diet has proved highly effective in reducing seizures in children whose epilepsy does not respond to medication, British researchers are reporting.

As the first randomized trial of the diet, the new study lends legitimacy to a treatment that has been used since the 1920s but has until recently been dismissed by many doctors as a marginal alternative therapy. “This is the first time that we’ve really got Class 1 evidence that this diet works for treatment of epilepsy,” said Dr. J. Helen Cross, professor of pediatric neurology at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is a principal investigator on the study, which will appear in the June issue of The Lancet Neurology.Though its exact mechanism is uncertain, the diet appears to work by throwing the body into ketosis, forcing it to burn fat rather than sugar for energy. Breakfast on the diet might consist of bacon, eggs with cheese, and a cup of heavy cream diluted with water; some children drink oil to obtain the fats that they need. Every gram of food is weighed, and carbohydrates are almost entirely restricted. Breaking the diet with so much as a few cookies can cause seizures to flare up.For the British trial, the researchers enrolled 145 children ages 2 to 16 who had never tried the diet, who were having at least seven seizures a week and who had failed to respond to at least two anticonvulsant drugs.
One group began the ketogenic diet immediately. The control group waited three months before starting it. In the first group, 38 percent of the children had seizure rates reduced by half, compared with 6 percent in the control group. Five children in the diet group had reductions exceeding 90 percent. Perceptions of the diet have changed sharply in the last decade. In 1993, a Hollywood producer, Jim Abrahams, took his 1-year-old son, Charlie, to Dr. John M. Freeman at the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Johns Hopkins, which was one of the few centers championing the diet. Within three days of starting the diet, Charlie’s incapacitating seizures, which had resisted multiple medications and surgery, stopped entirely.With his wife, Nancy, Mr. Abrahams founded the Charlie Foundation to Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy to promote education about the diet. He produced an instructional video for parents and a made-for-television movie, “First Do No Harm,” starring Meryl Streep as a mother who seeks out the diet for her child. As a result of the Johns Hopkins work, research on the diet blossomed and it became a standard treatment at hospitals and epilepsy centers in the United States and abroad.Dr. Shlomo Shinnar, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Management Center at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, called the new study “an important trial that lays to rest the issue of ‘Does it really work or not?’ ” Although the diet has to be medically supervised, Dr. Shinnar said, it is a mistake to believe that it requires extensive hospital resources and a staff’s constant attention. “Here they don’t have this,” he said of the British trial. “This study makes it clear that this actually can be made to work in a community setting

A: There are a few studies that have been done on the ketogenic diet. The main problem associated with it I think is that it is extremely difficult to stick with. There can also be some growth stunting. I think it is definitely worth more research though.

Q: diet works to treat epilepsy. What’s your reaction ???
Evidence a High-Fat Diet Works to Treat Epilepsy

Meryl Streep and Seth Adkins in “First Do No Harm,” a 1997 film about the diet and epilepsy.

By ALIYAH BARUCHIN
Published: May 6, 2008
A formerly controversial high-fat diet has proved highly effective in reducing seizures in children whose epilepsy does not respond to medication, British researchers are reporting.

As the first randomized trial of the diet, the new study lends legitimacy to a treatment that has been used since the 1920s but has until recently been dismissed by many doctors as a marginal alternative therapy. “This is the first time that we’ve really got Class 1 evidence that this diet works for treatment of epilepsy,” said Dr. J. Helen Cross, professor of pediatric neurology at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is a principal investigator on the study, which will appear in the June issue of The Lancet Neurology.Though its exact mechanism is uncertain, the diet appears to work by throwing the body into ketosis, forcing it to burn fat rather than sugar for energy. Breakfast on the diet might consist of bacon, eggs with cheese, and a cup of heavy cream diluted with water; some children drink oil to obtain the fats that they need. Every gram of food is weighed, and carbohydrates are almost entirely restricted. Breaking the diet with so much as a few cookies can cause seizures to flare up.For the British trial, the researchers enrolled 145 children ages 2 to 16 who had never tried the diet, who were having at least seven seizures a week and who had failed to respond to at least two anticonvulsant drugs.
One group began the ketogenic diet immediately. The control group waited three months before starting it. In the first group, 38 percent of the children had seizure rates reduced by half, compared with 6 percent in the control group. Five children in the diet group had reductions exceeding 90 percent. Perceptions of the diet have changed sharply in the last decade. In 1993, a Hollywood producer, Jim Abrahams, took his 1-year-old son, Charlie, to Dr. John M. Freeman at the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Johns Hopkins, which was one of the few centers championing the diet. Within three days of starting the diet, Charlie’s incapacitating seizures, which had resisted multiple medications and surgery, stopped entirely.With his wife, Nancy, Mr. Abrahams founded the Charlie Foundation to Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy to promote education about the diet. He produced an instructional video for parents and a made-for-television movie, “First Do No Harm,” starring Meryl Streep as a mother who seeks out the diet for her child. As a result of the Johns Hopkins work, research on the diet blossomed and it became a standard treatment at hospitals and epilepsy centers in the United States and abroad.Dr. Shlomo Shinnar, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Management Center at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, called the new study “an important trial that lays to rest the issue of ‘Does it really work or not?’ ” Although the diet has to be medically supervised, Dr. Shinnar said, it is a mistake to believe that it requires extensive hospital resources and a staff’s constant attention. “Here they don’t have this,” he said of the British trial. “This study makes it clear that this actually can be made to work in a community setting

A: Ketogenic diet is a well known adjunctive treatment for some epileptic patients.

There are over 40 different drugs in the US used to control seizures, and they are sometimes used in combinations. Even with all that choice, some patients are still unable to be managed with medication alone.

There are patients in whom a ketogenic diet is effective in reducing seizures or reducing the number or amount of drugs needed. It’s not a cure-all, any more than any of the drugs is. It’s just another tool that physicians can use to help people with epilepsy.

Q: What is a natural, holistic, approach to Schizoaffective disorder?
Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear enough the first time, I’m not paying some low class Psychiatrist to tell me to take a pill when I’m very much against man made treatment, though my treatment for epilepsy worked, I was still against it for religious purposes, Yes I’m on my meds which I hate with a passion, this means if you answer my question with a joke or with the wrong information I will report you, and that’s end of story!

A: I’m sorry to say, I don’t think there is a natural, holistic approach to treat that disorder which would eliminate that need for the psychiatric medicine. Maybe you could discuss with your doctor about certain herbal treatments which can help with different individual symptoms (but I doubt that there is a natural cocktail which would cure or fully treat you).

Make sure that your doctor knows all the herbs you are taking too. Some herbs/etc have chemicals in them that react with medicine.

Also, remember that many medicines COME from herbs/natural sources. http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa061403a.htm has a chart that shows some of them. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about finding a medicine that is nature-based.

Good luck.

Q: Epilepsy needs special medications… which ones?
Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that cause’s sudden burst of nerve activity. This activity is a seizure. This seizure is characterized by uncontrollable muscle activity in parts of the body, or in all of the body. Seizures may be mild or severe. If the seizure is mild the most a person may feel is faint or dizziness. If the seizure is severe the person may fall, shake, and lose awareness of what’s happening. Treatment of Epilepsy is aimed at preventing seizures by the use of special medications such as what? Please provide the special medications that prevent seizures. And how much doseage is needed of each medication. Also add your resorces. Best answer gets 10 points!

A: Hi. I am a 29 year old female with epilepsy. I have been on Tegretol since I was 16 years old after trying a few other meds. At first I was on 100mg twice a day, but with these meds, your body kinda gets used to it and you need to increase it slightly to compensate for that.
I am now on 200mg 3 times a day and that is still working fine for me.
The “science” name for the drug is Carbamazepine….Tegretol is just the brand name.
There are other drugs that are used to prevent seizures as well, so hopefully other people will come on and tell you what they are on and in what dosages.

Hope that has helped a little bit, or given you a starting point to research the answer. Google “tegretol” and it will tell you more about the drug

Q: looking for good doctor in bangalore, india for treating in epilepsy ?
treatment of Epilepsy in children with mental retardation & rehabilitation & vocational training

A: Banglore has National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological sciences (NIMHANS) as the best place to get such diseases treated and is considered a gold standard hospital .

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